


something right

by Nyxierose



Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, First Time, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Pre-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 12:54:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13951971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyxierose/pseuds/Nyxierose
Summary: Sometimes the only way to make the bad memories shut up is to make better ones.





	something right

She's fallen asleep with her head on his chest, and it might be the sweetest thing that's ever happened to him.

Objectively, Marcos is aware that his current life isn't ideal. He gets by on hopes that someday people like him will be seen as _people_ , and the constant threat of death-or-worse has weighed heavily on him for the last decade or so. The world will be a much better place someday, he believes that with everything in him, but he's not sure how long that'll take or if he'll live to see it happen or-

Lorna purrs, straight-up happy asleep kitten noises, and he has to admit that his current circumstances ain't all that bad either.

This part, he never thought he'd get. The partner curled up around him, content and safe and nowhere else she'd ever be… oh, there were _years_ he thought that was impossible. Even now, it doesn't always feel real, let alone like something he deserves. Maybe it never will. He can learn to accept that.

He supposes a lot of the beauty is in the contrast. He tries not to think too much about his more recent past, but the scars remain. Being the plaything of a sharp-fingernailed monster… he tries not to think about it too much, tries not to even remember her name if he can help it, but that was a mistake and he was a victim and…

Ah, never mind, Lorna isn't actually asleep. Perfect timing too, he thinks as she feathers wet kisses over his heart for no reason other than that she wants to and she can.

"You're tense," she mutters, concerned but too distracted to do anything about it just yet.

"Flashbacks." Best not to say anything more than that; he does _not_ need to spend the entire night talking his wonderful girlfriend down from murdering anyone.

"You get those every time I touch you. Am I doing something wrong?"

Marcos wraps his arm around her, resting his hand on the small of her back. Oh, if only he could have this conversation without having to worry about the possible outcomes. Lorna is just impulsive enough to be dangerous, and he still doesn't wish harm on anyone from his past, and-

"Nothing you need to think about."

Lorna rolls her eyes. "I can handle it. I think I know, but it'd be nice for you to actually _say_ it at some point so I know _why_ I'm planning the dramatic death of cartel bitch…"

Fuck it. She's not _wrong_.

"It still doesn't feel real. You. Here. Not making me do anything I don't want."

He's said those same words before in the context of how his powers are used, or more commonly _not_ used, but he hopes the weight is there this time, hopes he doesn't have to spell it out.

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"Do you need space? Is that why you're-"

" _No_ ," he growls, more forceful than he intends and for a moment he's terrified he might be becoming the same kind of monster he fears most and-

He feels her recoil against him, not enough to make her actually move but her body feels different somehow and he's not sure how to calm her so he kisses her forehead and hopes for the best.

"I just thought I should ask," she breathes. "Now that I know."

"You knew before this."

"Yeah, but now it's…"

Lorna shifts her position a little bit, moving up his body so they're at perfect eye level and she could easily sling her leg over his waist and straddle him if she were so inclined. "You're so… I don't know," she murmurs, and then she leans down and kisses him.

This is where the contrast hits most, Marcos thinks as his free hand tangles in her hair. There's a gentleness in this woman that he didn't know could ever be directed at him by anyone, made even more beautiful because it's so different from how she is with almost everyone else. Yet the different pieces flow beautifully, and he knows there's no malice or cruel intent in her treatment of him. She simply sees something she wants, and she gives just asmuch as she takes.

"What do you want from me?" she asks between kisses.

"What do _you_ want?" he counters, learned reflex still active despite it being almost a year since he last needed it.

"I wanna kiss you. A lot. Everywhere. I wanna make you feel good. I want…" Her voice cuts off like she might be about to cry.

"Lo. Babe. You have power too. You know that."

"I know," she repeats. "But I want to _help_."

"You're here. That's enough."

"I can't make your scars go away. I _know_ that. But I want to. Do you understand? I want-"

"Lo-"

"Tell me if I hurt you, and try to lie still. Let me do this. Please."

He trusts her enough to nod his consent. He closes his eyes and flips the switch in his brain, lighting up his skin to a comfortable warmth to make everything that much nicer for her, and he is not afraid. Never has been with her, not really, but this is more conscious than usual and-

She starts at his forehead and slowly works her way across his face. She's determined, he'll grant that, and he swears she wordlessly murmurs things between kisses. Oh, he is damn lucky to have this woman. She takes her sweet time, rests as little of her weight as possible on him as she performs her process, barely touches him otherwise, and-

"Your pants are gonna get in the way… or I could stop before I get that far. Your call."

"Want you," he murmurs.

"Is that a yes?"

"It is."

Her mouth lingers on the curve of his neck as her hands undo his pants and slip them off his hips. Far from the first time another person has undressed him, but the first time he's felt safe enough to keep his eyes closed and focus on the sensations. Lorna is consciously teasing him and enjoying herself in the process, but she's aware of his responses. And in return, so is he.

"This is not how I thought we'd end up having sex," he breathes.

"It doesn't have to be, Marcos. You can say no. You can always say no."

His eyes snap open. Lorna's hair is a curtain across his chest, her breath warm over his heart again (right where this all started), and it's one of the best things he's ever seen.

"I'm not saying no, babe. Just think it's interesting is all."

"Interesting," she repeats, almost laughing. "What, you were planning something romantic?"

"I don't think there's anything romantic about two bodies crashing into each other."

"Oh. Shit. I'm sorry if I-"

"Shh. No. Lorna, I… I'll learn."

"You don't have to. If all we ever do is cuddle and make out, I can deal. I'm not _her_ , Marcos. I won't break you for my own amusement. Or in any other way I can avoid."

"I know. I want… what you're trying to do, were doing just now… please."

He feels her smirk against his skin, closes his eyes again, and lets her continue her exploration.

And oh, if she intended this to make him at peace in his body, it's working beautifully. He responds to her, wants her so badly, but is more than okay when her mouth completely bypasses his dick and instead finds a place on his inner thigh that makes him shift against her in a way that simply cannot be comfortable for her and-

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Kinda? I want… up here. Please."

She complies, straddling his waist almost instinctively. She herself is still clothed, in her usual sleeping combo of tank top and underwear, and he puts his hands on her hips without thinking and no bad too much _bad_ and-

"I'm not breakable," she murmurs. "And I have a good pain tolerance if you screw up. I'll live."

Without any more formalities, she removes her tank top in a fluid motion that… is honestly the hottest thing Marcos has ever seen. He doesn't say as much, but she sees it in his eyes and leans down and kisses him like she _knows_ , and he could get very used to all of this. All of her. All of-

"Do you want me to fuck you?"

"Yes. Please."

Lorna moves off him for just a moment to deal with her last bit of clothing, then carefully positions herself over him and drops down without any real warning. This, too, is different. There's little aggression in their collision, nothing like he's used to. She rolls her hips slowly, takes his hands in hers, keeps her eyes open and smiles brightly. They are equally matched, he thinks as he rises to kiss her and she meets him halfway. If all goes well, they will have years ahead of them to learn each other's bodies, all the weird responses neither of them even know they have yet and-

"You're beautiful," she breathes. "And I know I can't make the bad memories go away, but I can try to give you good ones to live alongside them."

"You already have."

He holds out control as long as he can. In the past, he wasn't given much choice in the matter, and he waits until she notices and-

"Something wrong?"

"Do you want this to be over?"

"Over as in…?" It takes a moment, but her eyes go dark as she processes the implications. "Shit. I'm gonna kill her. Um… what do you want?"

"Good things," he replies, only words he can manage.

Lorna clenches around him, and it's too much, and he kisses her harder than he should because he's scared of what noise he might make and-

"Shh," she breathes as they both come down, as she shifts off of him and reaches for tissues to clean them up. "We're gonna figure this out, Marcos. I like you. And all that weird shit in your brain… we'll get through it."

"This is not what I expected," he murmurs.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Something right."


End file.
